


something I need

by Chris (ammyameliajane)



Category: The Maze Runner Series - James Dashner
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M, Suicidal Thoughts, it's implied but still, past nalby is also implied
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-10
Updated: 2014-11-10
Packaged: 2018-02-24 19:43:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,140
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2594024
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ammyameliajane/pseuds/Chris
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>The sun had already set, and while the sky was still light enough that he could just about see even without the street lamps, it was quickly fading. He looked out at the lake far below, watching the water ripple in the wind, and it wasn’t until the headlights of a passing car illuminated something white on the other side that Thomas saw him.</i>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>In which Newt is sad, and Thomas is a dork.</p>
            </blockquote>





	something I need

**Author's Note:**

  * For [drinkwithmegrantaire (JacquelineDeer)](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=drinkwithmegrantaire+%28JacquelineDeer%29).



> A little thing for drinkwithmegrantaire, because we were talking about something like this the other day and I really wanted to write it. There’s an abundance of sad in this fandom, so more fluff is always needed.
> 
> This didn't turn out exactly how I expected it to, but it's good enough, and I figured if I looked at it for any longer I'd end up hating it, aha. So, here you go.

_yo. im gonna be late. got held up @ work. save some food for me!_

Thomas sent off the text to his sister and stuffed his phone back into the pocket of his jacket, drawing it closer around him as the wind nipped at his skin. He really should have brought his coat, as Teresa had suggested, but he hadn’t factored in _wind_ when he’d checked the temperature that morning.

Hindsight was 20-20, and all that.

He felt his phone vibrate a minute later.

_No promises. :p Be safe._

_yeah yeah :p_

He smiled a little at his phone, and continued his brisk walk across the bridge that would take him home to the apartment he shared with Teresa. The sun had already set, and while the sky was still light enough that he could just about see even without the street lamps, it was quickly fading. He looked out at the lake far below, watching the water ripple in the wind, and it wasn’t until the headlights of a passing car illuminated something white on the other side that Thomas saw him.

There was someone leaning on the rail on the other side of the bridge—a guy around Thomas’s age looking down into the water in deep contemplation, as if it held the answer to some very complex problem. He was blond and skinny, and he was wearing a long-sleeved white shirt that had seen better days, and that definitely did _not_ look warm enough for the current weather. Thomas slowed, watching him.

He looked like he was thoroughly caught up in whatever thoughts were plaguing him, and Thomas was pretty sure company was not something that would be expected or, indeed, overly appreciated, but he found himself crossing over to stand next to the guy anyway. He could think of few reasons why someone would stop at the edge of a bridge in this weather looking like that, and none of them were good.

"Hey."

The blond jumped a little and turned to look at him, trying to disguise the little surprised sound he’d made as a cough. He was unsuccessful, and Thomas had to stifle a grin. “Bloody hell, mate. Don’t do that.”

Thomas offered a sheepish smile. “Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you.”

He seemed to collect himself and leaned back against the railing again, looking Thomas over. He had a thick British accent, and Thomas thought he’d probably be about an inch or so taller than him if he stood up straight. “Can I help you?”

Thomas shrugged, following the blond’s lead and leaning his side against the rail. “I dunno, you just looked like you could use some company.”

The other blinked, and arched a brow. “Did I?”

"Yeah. So I figured I’d just, y’know, come say hi."

Smooth.

The blond gave a small, wry smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “Well, I appreciate the thought, but I’m alright. Just thinking.”

"What about?" Thomas asked, not to be deterred so easily.

He shrugged with one of his shoulders. “Nothing important. Just stuff.”

"Stuff?"

The slightly older boy threw him a smirk. “Do you meddle in the business of every stranger you pass by?”

"Only the good looking ones."

It slipped out of his mouth before he could stop it, and he felt his face heat up in embarrassment, but thankfully the blond just laughed. Thomas counted that as a victory.

"My name’s Thomas."

The other boy studied his face for a moment like he was trying to figure him out, and Thomas shifted his weight to his other foot nervously under the scrutiny. Then his face softened. “Newt.”

Thomas grinned and held out his hand. “Nice to meet you, Newt.”

Newt chuckled and shook his hand briefly before letting go. “Don’t you have somewhere to be, then, Thomas?”

Thomas shrugged and looked out at the lake again, resting his chin in his hand. “Not really. Just got off work. What about you, aren’t you cold?”

Newt shook his head even though Thomas could see that he was, in the way that he hunched slightly and crossed his arms to keep his hands warm. “Nah, not really. I don’t mind it. Got nowhere else to be.”

"You sure? ‘Cause somewhere warmer sounds nice to me."

Newt raised a brow at him. “Well, nothin’s keepin’ you here.”

"I dunno about that." Thomas looked back at Newt, watching him with a sort of open curiosity. "You still haven’t told me about that ‘stuff’ you were thinking about."

Newt looked away, staring down into the water again with a frown. Thomas was aware of the fact that it was getting late and that Teresa was waiting for him, and he was tired and cold and a big part of him really wanted to sit down with a nice cup of hot chocolate or something and _relax_ until it was time to go to bed, but something in Newt’s expression made him feel like this was far more important.

There was silence for a long moment while Thomas watched Newt have what looked like an inner debate, probably about whether or not he should tell actually Thomas anything or if he should just tell him to get lost.

Newt didn’t look back up at him, but finally, he spoke. “I just got dumped.”

Thomas blinked. “Oh?”

"Yeah." Newt leaned down to rest his chin on his arms. "Well, it was about a week ago. My boyfriend and I, we were together for three years, and then he just…" He shrugged, like he didn’t know how to explain it. "Said he’d changed. It wasn’t working anymore. And then he left."

"Just like that?" Newt gave an affirmative hum. "Shit, man. I’m sorry."

The blond sighed. “I’m just. Not taking it well, I s’pose.”

"Can’t blame you."

They lapsed into silence again, both looking out into the darkness of the lake, the light from the sunset having completely faded by now.

Newt let out a humorless chuckle. “Sorry. I don’t even know you and I’m whining about my ex. I sound like a bloody teenage girl.”

"Hey, I asked, remember?" Thomas said, shooting him a small smile. "You have every right to be upset."

"I just…" Newt let out another sigh, frowning into the distance. "He’s half the bloody reason I came to this country. My whole family’s back in England. I guess it was easier when I was overseas, didn’t have to put up with me as much. Should’ve known better."

"I doubt that was the reason he left." Thomas offered, for lack of anything better to say.

Newt shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine. It was fine for the first year or so, but then…hell if I know.”

"Well, he’s an idiot." Thomas declared, making Newt look at him with an amused expression. Feeling bold, he continued. "I mean, if I’d been in a relationship with you for three years, I’d be looking at rings, not wanting to leave."

Newt snorted. “You don’t even know me.”

"I like to think I’m a good judge of character."

"Well, you’re not."

"We’ll see about that."

Newt smiled again, and Thomas thought it reached his eyes this time. He grinned in return, and the brief quiet that came over them was comfortable now.

"Seriously, though, I’m freezing. There’s this little coffee place not too far from here that has some damn good hot chocolate, if you wanna join me?"

Newt considered him for a moment, looking him up and down, before appearing to come to a decision. He stood up straight and adjusted his shirt slightly, stuffing his hands into his jeans pockets with a small smile. “Lead the way, Tommy.”

Thomas hadn’t been called ‘Tommy’ since he’d been about thirteen or so, when he’d declared to his mother that he was too old to be called by such a silly nickname. When Newt said it, though, Thomas found that he actually kind of liked it.

 

\--

 

They spent the next hour and a half chatting, drinking hot chocolate, and munching on pastries. Thomas found that he really _liked_ Newt; apparently he’d transferred to MIT from London two years before (“Hey, I just transferred there too! What’s your major?” “Computer science and engineering. You?” “Bio engineering. Biology sounds boring, I know, but it’s actually so cool…”), and they talked a lot about college and classes and professors, and how Newt had made his first friend when a guy he shared a 7 a.m. class with (Minho, an electrical engineering major) once dumped an energy drink into his coffee, solemnly declared he was going to die, and then drank the whole thing.

They talked about family, too. Newt had two parents and a little sister back in London, and the last time he’d seen them was Christmas the year before, when his sister had made him a holiday-themed flower crown for the occasion. And in turn, Thomas told Newt about Teresa. (“We’re not actually related, though. She’s my step-sister. Our parents married when we were little, but we’re pretty much the same age so we got along really well.”) Which abruptly reminded him that he was supposed to have been home an hour ago, and that maybe he should send her a message to let her know that he wouldn’t be home for a while yet.

"Nah, I should be getting back home anyway. I’ve got to study."

"Oh, yeah. Okay." Thomas said, trying to hide his disappointment. It was after 7 in the evening, after all, and he really ought to be getting home too. "Can I—can I get your number? I definitely want to do this again sometime."

Newt blinked, then smiled. “Good that.” He recited his number for Thomas to put into his phone, and Thomas did the same with his, and then they were both standing outside, lingering as if trying to find an excuse not to leave.

"Thank you, Tommy." Newt said, after a pause.

"What for?" Thomas asked, looking at him curiously.

"For…this." He made a vague gesture. "For talking to me. I needed that tonight. I might’ve done something stupid otherwise, and this is the most fun I’ve had in a while. So…thank you."

Thomas gave him a wide smile, his chest filling with something pleasantly warm at the thought that he’d helped, at least a little. “Don’t mention it. I’ll text you soon, yeah?”

"Good that."

 

\--

 

That morning, Newt woke up to the soft _ding_ of his phone alerting him to the fact that he had a message. Groaning a little, he flipped over and grabbed it, rubbing his eye with his free hand as he unlocked the screen. There were a few unread texts from Minho that he hadn’t looked at the night before, and he should probably answer them before Minho got worried, but his eyes zeroed in on the newest one.

_mornin! sleep well? :)_

Newt stared down at the message with a sleepy smile. He wasn’t sure why he hadn’t expected Thomas to actually text him any time soon—never mind first thing in the morning—but he found himself pleasantly surprised.

He wasn’t coherent enough to answer just yet, but he figured Thomas could wait until he’d had some caffeine. He stretched and rolled out of bed to make himself some coffee, absently running a hand through his hair, messing it up even more. While he waited for the coffee, he looked over Minho’s messages—mostly complaining, nothing particularly important—and sent off a quick _Lol_ before grabbing a mug.

He looked at Thomas’s message again. He still felt Alby’s absence like it was a physical thing—and in a way, it sort of was—but somehow, this guy that he’d known for barely two hours in total made it seem a bit more bearable.

Which, really, made absolutely no sense whatsoever, and was probably a sign that he needed that coffee ASAP before he said something stupid.

His phone dinged again as he took his first sip of the bitter drink. It was Minho.

_hey where were u last night_

He sighed, and took another sip before setting the mug down to reply.

_Took a walk. Didn’t feel like talking. Sorry._

_u ok?_

Newt thought about it. He thought about Thomas and his sweet good morning text, and how it made him want to grin like the bloody idiot he was. How Thomas had noticed something was off and taken the time to talk to him, despite the fact that he was cold and tired and Newt was a complete stranger. And he thought about the miserable darkness in his mind, and how it had, at least for now, eased up somewhat.

Smiling a little despite himself, he sent a quick reply and set to making himself some toast for breakfast.

_Yeah. I’m good._


End file.
